The Best Vacation Ever?

Published on Forbes.com | By Larry Olmsted

Welcome to “The Great Life.” Don’t expect me to kick it off in a small way. This is not the “okay life” or even the “good life.” It’s about great experiences, trips, foods, things, places. But sometimes even great won’t do and today, you get the best.

I travel a lot. It is my job, and I have spent a couple of thousand days on the road in the past 15 years, more often than not in places people really want to go and in a luxurious manner. I have not been everywhere—no one has—but I have been a lot of places and done a lot of things, and inevitably I get asked the same question over and over:

What was your best trip ever?

It should really be a tough question considering all the possible answers, the safaris, the cruises, the once in a lifetime experiences, the bucket list trips. It might sound better if I hemmed and hawed but I can’t because I know the answer and I give it every time:

Biking through Italy with Butterfield & Robinson.

Remember, this is my best trip ever, and it might not be for you, but then again, you might be surprised. And my answer is unexpectedly malleable.

You see, along with golf and skiing, cycling is one of my true sporting passions. Italy is my favorite place. So for me, cycling through Italy is a match made in heaven.

But you do not have to be a cycling junkie to love it. Butterfield & Robinson’s slogan is “Slow Down To See the World.” Just as you see a lot more of a place driving than you do flying, you see a lot more biking than driving. You learn more, you really get to stop and smell the roses. You could see even more by walking, but hey, you’ve got to get to Montalcino in time for the VIP brunello tasting.